The Via del Mercato is a hiking route that connects Domodossola with Locarno through Val Vigezzo and the Centovalli, along mule tracks used since ancient times to bring the products of the valleys to the city market. The same mule tracks were used by the many emigrants of the Valley, and the pilgrims who went up to the Santuario di Re, an important devotional center in the Valley dedicated to Madonna del Sangue, a pilgrimage destination from Domodossola, Locarno, and Cossogno (in Verbano).

The Vigezzo valley, unlike other Ossola valleys, is a place where the rules of orography are overturned. It is not a valley dug by the flow of a stream with villages located at different altitudes from the head to the plain’s mouth. The Vigezzo valley seems to have neither beginning nor end. It boasts two opposite streams, one of which appears to flow uphill, the Valley is flat and little engraved. Here not only the orography is unusual, but also the history and culture: it is a rich valley that lives on tourism and the work of border-workers. It has experienced emigration that over the centuries produced unique inventions and prosperity, but that also led to the tradition of chimney sweeps and an artistic history linked to major art schools. The restful environment and the polychromy of the broad-leaf forests make the landscape very gentle to the eye. However, the Vigezzo valley is an alpine environment, an open place but nestled between dark and wild valleys.

During the last century, the Valley experienced a deep transformation of its socio-economic system: the traditional agricultural-pastoral activity has been significantly reduced, carving out a small space as an integrative economy. No industrial development occurred, so the “border-worker” activity in neighboring Switzerland and tourism are the primary sources of the economy of Vigevano. This made it possible to avoid the drain of population, which in other valleys negatively affected the social fabric and urban area. One of the best ways to discover and appreciate the historical contents and the beauty of the Vigezzo Valley and the adjacent Centovalli is to run following the ancient road that connected Domodossola with Locarno (CH), used since the Middle Ages by merchants and woodcutters, herdsmen and emigrants between Ticino and Italy.

Today, part of the route has been lost, covered by the current road network, but some well-preserved sections of the old mule track are present both in Italy and Switzerland. Walking along this road is easy and pleasant, thanks also to the “VIGEZZINA”, the cross-border railway line recently awarded the title of “the most beautiful panoramic railway in Italy” that connects Domodossola with Locarno. Traveling by train on the Vigezzina railway line allows staying overnight in any village in the Valley, reaching each travel destination’s starting point in the morning.

Info and stops: https://www.piemonteoutdoor.it/it/attivita/escursionismo/del-mercato-domodossola-locarno